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Until Bob returns, no cha-cha, & no rhumba….

Ffolkes,
As I sit here, laughing at myself, I have to admit, my Bozoid tendencies are in full swing this morning…. I’ve been steadily plugging along, filling in the blanks as I go through the morning routine, for about 35 minutes now. Got a lot done too, on starting a Pearl. I even had the intro section completely done, and was dutifully searching for pearls, when I was confronted by my own silliness and failure to be a Lert….. or, if you insist, alert…..

I started to paste a poem below, and realized I was posting it into tomorrow’s Pearl template. This is also where I had already composed and written an intro section leading into the Pearl….. see my problem? Complete time distortion ensues…. Now I’m dazed again, much like the first 5 minutes of being up, before the first sip of coffee kicks in enough to raise the eyelids a fraction, and will need to take a minute here to regroup…… I’ll be back in a few, when I have caught up to reality again….. mumble, grumble, phtt….

I have re-established contact with reality, and we can now move on to bigger and better things…. if that particular phrase can be considered to apply to this process…. as the old Dead song says, “head’s all empty, and I don’t care….” No worries, we’ll just go now and find something with which we can fill it up…. shall we Pearl?……
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C:\> erase c:\reality.sys; copy a:\pern\*.* c:

This pearl is a bit of a test…. What I’ve written here is, of course, a DOS command line. (I wrote ‘of course’ before I fully realized that it is ‘of course’ only to those who are familiar with DOS, which may not include the more modern users among us. For those ffolkes, just think of it as double clicking on a program you want to use…..) The test is to tell me, in the comment section, if you know what the command tells the computer to do….

It’s quite a simple command, though the .exe installation file it points to is VERY complex…. and that is your only clue…. Let’s see who’s paying attention, as well as who is well grounded in both computers and literature….. luck won’t be needed, and wouldn’t help in any case, but, good luck! If no one figures it out before tomorrow morning’s Pearl gets written, I’ll reveal the answer then….
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The only point in the following entry is to preserve my sanity. In looking over the last few Pearls, I found a disturbing lack of poetry. Oh, there was some there, but not enough to suit my needs…. if I don’t get enough of the grace and beauty that good poetry provides, I get testy, to say the least. That probably accounts for the 800-1000 word rants in the last couple of posts. That has actually worked out well; I was able to publish two of those rants to another site as solitary articles. But, in the process, I’ve built up a need for the serenity that a good poem gives me…. so, here are three of them, all capable of filling my need, and, hopefully, yours….. enjoy!

How fading are the joys we dote upon!
Like apparitions seen and gone.
But those which soonest take their flight
Are the most exquisite and strong,–
Like angels’ visits, short and bright;
Mortality ‘s too weak to bear them long.
— John Norris (1657-1711) — The Parting

But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto iii, Stanza 88

I don’t know about you, but I feel better…..

Oft in the stilly night,
Ere slumber’s chain has bound me,
Fond memory brings the light
Of other days around me;
The smiles, the tears,
Of boyhood’s years,
The words of love then spoken;
The eyes that shone
Now dimmed and gone,
The cheerful hearts now broken.
— Thomas Moore (1779-1852) — Oft in the Stilly Night

I know, I know, I said three… but this one popped up in front of me, glommed onto my leg before I could dodge, and insisted that I include it with the others. Then I looked at it, and was sunk…. It’s not like I jabbed you in the eye with a stick, now, is it?…… Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you to have another; they’re calorie free……
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“The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower. To think otherwise is to demean the Buddha — which is to demean oneself.” — Robert Pirsig, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”

I like this. I liked it when I first read the book, more years ago than I care to think about, and it still clicks with my way of looking at things, as if Buddha himself was talking directly to me…. I admire it so much, that’s all I’m going to say on the subject. This can speak for itself……
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“If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” — Bertrand Russell

We are now experiencing first hand the beginning effects of the proof of this proposition. Our world-wide society has succumbed to the truth in this statement, and are actively, and obliviously, pursuing foolishness en masse. One need only look through the daily news to see this demonstrated; article after article explores concepts and events that illustrate the full and complete absence of critical thought that is rampant in our culture. No matter how outrageous the statement, no matter how silly the proposal, no matter how egregious the lie, if a talking head on TV says it, fifty million people will jump right up and cheer its arguable (to any minds but theirs…) merit, and give it their unquestioning belief.

Do I really need to point out examples? Oh, right, evidence is good…. Okay. Easy money. How about….. Mitt Romney? Here is a man who has spent the last 10 months or so running around the US to various political electoral farces, er, functions, and has repeatedly lied, or pandered to special interests in the face of another, or alienated entire segments of the voting public (such as women, and the poor), or changed a position one day after claiming it as his own, so many times there are a number of web sites that are devoted just to keeping track of his contradictory and/or fictional statements, of what he has the temerity to call facts. I’m not picking on him; it’s all out there in black and white for anyone to see.

Yet this man is the apparent next candidate for the Presidency of this country as the Republican choice. If we are to believe it, he has the support not only of numerous officials and “important public figures” in his party, but of millions upon millions of folks who seem unable or unwilling to examine any of his public statements for truth or accuracy. It’s almost as if he were a talking fundamentalist Bible…. He said it, they believe it, and that’s that…… possessing, as they apparently do, steel traps instead of minds. Anything that gets in, isn’t getting out alive, that’s for sure and for certain… As a bonus prize in the foolishness category, the folks who generally fall for this kind of chicanery have the following attitude as well…

“When you are sure you’re right, you have a moral duty to impose your will upon anyone who disagrees with you.” — Robert W. Mayer

And people wonder why I’m cynical…… here is a short verse that laments the absence of the kind of men I wish were running this country…. and I am saddened by the fact that I can think of no man, or woman, in office or out, who fits this mold…..

Statesman, yet friend to truth! of soul sincere,
In action faithful, and in honour clear;
Who broke no promise, serv’d no private end,
Who gain’d no title, and who lost no friend.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Moral Essays, Epistle to Mr. Addison
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But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!
Did ye not hear it?–No! ‘t was but the wind,
Or the car rattling o’er the stony street.
On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.
— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iii, Stanza 22

“The traditional church wedding features two bridal marches, by two different classical composers. The bride walks down the aisle to the majestic, moderately paced music of the “Bridal Chorus” from Richard Wagner’s 1848 opera “Lohengrin”. The newlyweds exit to the more jubilant, upbeat strains of the “Wedding March” from Felix Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The custom dates back to the royal marriage, in 1858, of Victoria, princess of Great Britain, and Empress of Germany, to Prince Frederick William of Prussia. Victoria, eldest daughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria, selected the music herself. A patron of the arts, she valued the works of Mendelssohn and practically venerated those of Wagner. Given the British penchant for copying the monarchy, soon brides throughout the Isles, nobility and commoners alike, were marching to Victoria’s drummer, establishing a Western wedding tradition.”

It seems at first glance that this entry has little significance in relation to what usually passes here for subject matter. Admittedly, it is less of an issue than my usual pick of stuff upon which to rant. Calm yourselves, I’m not going to rant about this…. I have included it for one reason only, and that is to demonstrate that the power of celebrity has its roots further back in our cultural history than might at first be apparent. This short historical note on weddings clearly shows how the famous in society influence the culture as a whole, and have done so since well before the advent of radio, news delivery over international distances, TV, and the internet.

The actions of one woman, the most visible public figure of her time, were sufficiently of interest to the rest of society as to institute a new custom, which persists to this day, and not just in the British Isles. Public opinion can thus be seen to be manipulable by the simplest of means, to wit: if the public likes it, they’ll buy it…. simple, yet effective, and obviously well-known to those who manipulate others as a rule of policy….. funny, sometimes where one can find evidence of humanity’s vulnerabilities, isn’t it?…..

“It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it.” — Goethe
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As another morning’s musings draw to a close, I find myself a trifle melancholy. I’m sure it is temporary, and merely the result of finishing what has been fun to create. Since I’m happy with it as it is, we’ll get on with the rest of the procedure, and speed this on its way to cyberspace, and your perusal….. enjoy! Y’all take care out there…..

Very nice, again! Loved the poetry…and I’m just taking a wild guess at your “test.” Is it something along the lines of “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one”? I know that’s not it, you’re speaking of some sort of command…just throwing that quote into your dialogue for the day (Albert Einstein). :-) I know nothing of computer language, all of that lies in the realm of my youngest son’s thinking, at least in this house.

A good guess, but not what it says, entirely. Reality is involved, though…. :-) Glad you enjoyed today… I had fun with it…. and I needed that verse, like a dog needs affection…. can live without, but hate it….

you mentioned wedding marches ..well the royals had a job deciding on which to go for at William and Kate’s wedding here is one that did not get through , personally I rather liked it !! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4mf5yqn1aw have a good day!! XX

Loved the poems especially the one by Thomas Moore. Sad but beautiful. I find it interesting that you have already started on tomorrow’s “Pearling”. I should be more organized. I never have any idea what I’m going to write about tomorrow.

Great Budda quote too. The book that speaks to me like that one did to you is As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. Love Bertrand Russell too! :)

:-) Thanks, always glad to hear ffolkes enjoy my ‘stuff’… I didn’t intend to start on tomorrow’s Pearl, that’s why I was laughing so hard… I was well on my way, and had to start over…. I hadn’t realized Murphy came to spend the night, just so he’d be here in the morning… I do collect pearls ahead of time, and keep them in a bag where I can find them, but I try not to work on the posts before I start in the morning…it’s just fresher that way…. and what I write about is as random as I can make it…..just how I like it. :-)

I have re-established contact with reality, and we can now move on to bigger and better things…. if that particular phrase can be considered to apply to this process…. as the old Dead songsays, “head’s all empty, and I don’t care….” No worries, we’ll just go now and find

something with which we can fill it up…. shall we Pearl?……

I love this LOLs.. I read twice and then read it to my mom, she said to listen to you often, for
you are too wise, someone will shut you down…
I hope not,..this was an exceptional “Pearl”
everything blended even though I still don;t understand your program DOS? I probably wrote that wrong too…computer challenged, though getting better I am! LOLs

Thanks alot for this …i thoroughly enjoyed dancing within your labyrinth of thoughts…

maryrose…. Thanks! :-) It’s always nice to hear that y’all are enjoying what I’m writing… and thank your Mom, too, that is a compliment, indeed. As for getting shut down, we’ll have to see… as I don’t seem to be able, or willing, to shut myself up…. held it all in too long, I suppose….

So far, no one has figured out the DOS question, (yes, you wrote it correctly, if not entirely accurately. DOS is what is called an operating system; Windows is also an operating system… as is OS10, I believe is the name, or Tiger, or Dragon, or some such, the one that Apple computers use instead of Windows and DOS…. When I reveal the answer, if no one gets it here ( I can think of at least two of the blogs I follow that should get it right away… they’ve been geeking even longer than I…. if they get by to read it before I post in the morning….) I will explain the whole thing more fully, in layman’s terms….

I particularly enjoyed today;s offerings…why? I don;t know..I mean I enjoy all your pearls and ponderings..today I had time and patience to think on my own..the poetry, the silliness, the challenge? I don;t know… I just wanted to say hello :-) and thanks. Bright blessings, and happy pearling…

Cool, I kind of hope someone gets it…. I read one of your posts today, and it sort of resembled a Pearl, at least in the respect that it wandered around a while before it got where you wanted to go…. so that may be why it seemed sort of deja vuish…. so, hello back :-) and Blessed Be….

Today’s post was more my usual style – or how I went when I started… sometimes I just go with unedited streams of consciousness, they are always fun.. and I haven;t done anything like it in awhile… always love your pearls.. I think it just fit in with a laid back Sunday afternoon… I’m in no rush to be anywhere or do anything and that;s the best time to read I think.. but is was a little deja vuish now that you mention it :-)

:-) Thanks…. that is the second time I’ve been accused of being hopeful in two days, so I must be more so than I realized… I tend to feel somewhat negative, at least in my choice of subject matter, and often in what I say. But, I do try to say it and present the other side of whatever it is at the same time, so perhaps that is what gives it a hopeful cast to the reader…. I confess it’s great to get feedback like this, because as the author of what I post, I read it with a different set of eyes, and accompanying attitudes, than the readers do, and it is at least partly for them that I write. So, it’s nice to get feedback I can dig my figurative teeth into…. thanks…. :-)

Ned,
It’s been a while since I wrote any code, and I did it mostly to make fun things happen on the monochrome screen. Scrolling asterisks and such.
If memory serves at all, you’re telling your computer to replace it’s current reality file with another file. It appears this new one comes from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey? I feel it would be a suitable reality.
Here there be Dragons!

I agree.
But I think this actually happens when one gets mesmerized by any well written fantasy fictional series. Reality takes a backseat & the world of the book has our whole hearted attention.
It happened to me while reading LOTR, The Foundation series & so on.
Though I have heard abt the ‘Dragonriders of Pern’ series…is it comparable to the ones above ?

Rohit…. you too are correct, if you agree with what cowgirlz wrote… but, you checked in second, so your prize will have to just be a short mention as second place…. :-) Not too bad… it’s the same prize as first place….

Of course it happens to us, when we find ourselves in whatever reality we are reading, literally, by our perception… which, of course does not override our home reality, but does shove it into the background. This is why we designed computers to simulate our thinking processes.. it makes it simpler to figure out how to tell them what we wish to do, or have them do…. :-)

DOS was certainly fun, but, I have no wish to spend a lot of time there any more… It would be even more typing than I do now, and my wrists couldn’t take it…. and the graphics sucked….. Take care, and thanks for chiming in on the question…… always good to hear from you…. and you were one of two I suspected would know the answer, should they see the question….

Saw the post just 5 min back though it was posted yday :-)
An addition : Currently people experience this in online games far too much. Quite saddening actually in some circumstances…books have an end unlike the online games…..Thats a good idea for a blog post since I do have some exp in that !

I’m currently in George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire Reality. More Dragons.
The Pern series was fun, has some depth – honestly it’s been a really long time since I read it. IIRC, it was fairly quick reading.
I mostly know enough DOS to make a huge mess. So at this point I avoid it, other than if someone dangles a contest in front of my nose.

Okay, I’m confused, but it’s only because I don’t have a dragon, who could transport me through time to a point when I wasn’t confused… Cowgirlz, your first response came in, I answered.. while I was doing so, Rohit’s answer followed yours in.. but I didn’t see it before I posted my first response (you see the way this is heading… straight into more confusion. I think I’m just going to stay right here inside these parentheses, and stop this whole process until my brain can get caught up…. ) ( Either you guys are up late, or are across the world… I suspect both at once in this instance… any who, it is late here, and I’ve been up for almost 18 hours now, so I’m going down… 5 AM comes early, and that is when my brain gets up, no matter what else happens….) Okay, back now, and I’m good…. long story short… cowgirlz came in with the correct answer about one minute or so before Rohit also correctly weighed in….. and that is what will go in the Pearl in the morning…. thanks again to you both, and congratulations on your stunning victory(s)…. :-)

You are the first, and win the prize, which has no cash value, but, hey, small budget here.. I’ll announce you as the winner in the morning’s Pearl, with a short explanation of the meaning of the line for the lay people among the readers, along with a short synopsis of the colonization of Pern, and the advent of Dragons… A few readers gave some guesses, but didn’t figure it out…

I knew there were at least two bloggers I follow who would know; I didn’t know you were one of them, so now three.. the others didn’t check in on it, so probably missed it among the crush of stuff to read around WP….

Thanks for playing along… I knew that whoever knew what it meant would agree that it would be a reality preferable to the one we are currently struggling with….. Hell, having the dragons in this reality might improve matters; it couldn’t hurt….

I won, I won, I won!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeee! ;-)
I will be just fine with Fame instead of Fortune. I understand about the budgets and so forth.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a dragon? People would be so much nicer if they faced becoming a serious crispy critter if they offended you or your dragon. Until then I guess we have Conceal and Carry permits and hounds.

DOS is kind of a foreign language to me. I can decipher what the message is, but I can’t compose a reply in the same language. Shoot, sometimes I’m that way with English even. For whatever reason though at age 8 I lacked the patience and discipline required to become a programmer (or hacker). Oh well.

Thank you for the contest, and one that made me reach deep in my memory banks!

“…The actions of one woman, the most visible public figure of her time…”

Ever wondered why women give birth lying on their backs instead standing up…So the story goes that one English king wanted to see his child born and the best view for him would be if his wife lay on her back. After that, everyone lay on their backs…prior to that it was customery to stand upright and let gravity assist…